Obviously it all depends on how quickly he can heal up. But if we clinch a playoff spot, should we concede the division and concentrate on getting Ben and Pouncey ready for the playoffs??

Consider that even if we win out, there's still a good chance we're a wild card.

D Rock

12-12-2011, 09:30 AM

Obviously it all depends on how quickly he can heal up. But if we clinch a playoff spot, should we concede the division and concentrate on getting Ben and Pouncey ready for the playoffs??

Consider that even if we win out, there's still a good chance we're a wild card.

I would. Just get to the playoffs...these guys have enough post-season experience that they don't 100% need to come in guns blazing on a 5 game winning streak. Just get to the playoffs healthy.

SteelBucks

12-12-2011, 09:55 AM

I would not. Not only is winning the division possible but also the #1 seed. Home field advantage plus a first round bye would be huge. Now if the Ravens win next week and the Steelers lose....then yes, rest before the wildcard game.

feltdizz

12-12-2011, 09:59 AM

I would not. Not only is winning the division possible but also the #1 seed. Home field advantage plus a first round bye would be huge. Now if the Ravens win next week and the Steelers lose....then yes, rest before the wildcard game.

I would rest Ben but I doubt it would happen. Ben plays like every play is his last and I could see him taking a hard hit late in the 4th quarter when we are up by 14 on a 3rd and 22 scramble.

John Wayne only knows how to play the game one way... :D

WindyCitySteel

12-12-2011, 10:13 AM

If he can play, he plays. When you start trying to set up your lineup the last few weeks of the season, you lose your edge. See 2005 Colts.

Sugar

12-12-2011, 10:42 AM

If he can play, he plays. When you start trying to set up your lineup the last few weeks of the season, you lose your edge. See 2005 Colts.

:Agree

Players play. You might pull him earlier if there is a game salted away. Other than that, the guy should be in making plays. This team doesn't seem to do well with time off this year. They need to be in their flow to make it go.

SteelCrazy

12-12-2011, 11:12 AM

To me, it depends on the severity of the injury at the time. Homefield advantage is really important and worth fighting for if at all possible. I say play him if he can go and is improving health wise, but if he is not improving or getting worse then I think you have to sit him and deal with road games.

Wilkinsburg

12-12-2011, 11:25 AM

Don't see how we can. One game away from division and potential Home field through the play-offs. Just can't throw that chance away. Anyway, historically, resting starters late hasn't proven to be a real benefit for teams.

flippy

12-12-2011, 11:35 AM

No way do I sit Ben. He sets the tone for this team and will keep them on fire going into the postseason.

Momentum is important.

steeler_fan_in_t.o.

12-12-2011, 11:40 AM

Two reasons why I would not rest him if he is able to play.

1) He has to be used to playing on a bum ankle. This is a chance to practice that.

2) His best chance of recovering from the injury is to give him a week off. We have to go for it if it is still in the cards.

BTW, I'm not sure of all of the tie breaking scenarios, but if we get to 11 wins then we are in. One more win in the last three games and we are clinched.....so we have already pretty much assured ourselves and I'm not even close to holding Ben out.

Northern_Blitz

12-12-2011, 11:52 AM

I'd be tempted to rest Ben for the next two weeks and put him in for a half or so against Cleveland. I think I'd at least sit him down against a potent D in SF.

Balt has games against SD, CLE, and CIN. If they go 3-0 we can't catch them. Even if they drop one, we need to go 2-1.

We have games against SF, STL, and CLE. One win gets us to 11 and I think Batch can win against STL. I don't think we can beat NE or Balt in the playoffs with Batch at the helm.

The Jets are the only other AFC team (not division winner) that could get to 11, but probably won't with games against Philly, NYG, and Mia.

I'd rather make it hard on Baltimore in the playoffs than the regular season.

rpmpit

12-12-2011, 01:01 PM

Just to bring this back into focus a bit, I was talking about resting an injured Ben. Not if he was 100% healthy - like teams who have faultered have done in the past. Of course Ben will want to play and selfishly, I'd want him out there all the time. But if we have little or nothing to gain, but plenty to lose if the injury gets worse, wouldn't it be better to rest him??

Dee Dub

12-12-2011, 01:24 PM

Not sure what method I use to say this?? Either Jim Mora's "Playoffs"? or Allen Iverson's "we talkin' practice"......but I you can use either.

Rest??? That is what the off-season is for.

You play to win the games. :D (Herm Edwards)

feltdizz

12-12-2011, 01:38 PM

The good thing is Ben has 10 days to rest before the 49er game.

Mister Pittsburgh

12-12-2011, 01:41 PM

Who is our backup? If Ben is injured, is Batch the primary backup? If not, then why was he dressed and the guy who went into the game when Ben went down? Is Dixon really that worthless that he is the 3rd QB behind Batch?

SteelBucks

12-12-2011, 01:45 PM

Just to bring this back into focus a bit, I was talking about resting an injured Ben. Not if he was 100% healthy - like teams who have faultered have done in the past. Of course Ben will want to play and selfishly, I'd want him out there all the time. But if we have little or nothing to gain, but plenty to lose if the injury gets worse, wouldn't it be better to rest him??

That's the thing, the Steelers still have a lot to gain (division, #1 seed, homefield advantage). IMO, as long as he can protect himself, he should and probably will play.

flippy

12-12-2011, 05:58 PM

Knowing Ben, he's bound to hurt something else along the way. The more hurt he is, the better he plays.

chiken

12-12-2011, 07:41 PM

of the 13 games played we have only been close to playing 4 good offensive quarters just once. We put up a big number against the Bungles and then against the Browns at home we barely scrape together 2 touchdowns. We have yet to find a 4 qtr groove, until we do I say there is no way we deserve to Rest..

We are looking at playing 3 playoff games on the road - We haven't even gotten our no-huddle attack on track yet..

hawaiiansteel

12-12-2011, 11:57 PM

Should Steelers sit Big Ben for next few games?

Posted on: December 10, 2011
By Ryan Wilson

http://cbssports.com/images/blogs/ben-roethlisberger-121011.jpg

Big Ben limps down the steps to the locker room after Pittsburgh beat Cleveland last Thursday. (AP)

The Steelers became the first AFC team to 10 wins when they defeated the Browns Thursday night. But it came at a price: quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and center Maurkice Pouncey suffered high-ankle sprains, and it's unclear if either will play nine days from now when Pittsburgh plays San Francisco on Monday Night Football.

For now, the win moves the Steelers to the top of the AFC North, a half-game ahead of Baltimore, at least until Sunday afternoon when the Ravens faces the winless Colts. And it's the remaining schedules for both teams that could determine how Pittsburgh proceeds with Roethlisberger.

Assuming Baltimore beats Indy (yes, we know, the Raven's three losses are against the likes of the Titans, Jaguars and Seahawks but we're giving them the benefit of the doubt against the 0-12 Colts), they will be 10-3, the No. 1 team in the division and the No. 2 team in the AFC. The Steelers, meanwhile, will be the No. 5 team, and at 10-3, they're pretty much locked into that position. (The 7-5 Bengals are currently the sixth seed, but the Titans, Raiders and Jets are also 7-5 and vying for the last wild-card spot.)

With games remaining against the 49ers, Rams and Browns, the Steelers' schedule ranks as the second-easiest in the league. The easiest? That honor goes to the Ravens, who face the Colts, Chargers, Browns and Bengals.

If Thursday night's game was any indication, Roethlisberger will try to play against San Francisco. But whether he takes the field could be determined by what the Ravens do the day before. If they beat the Colts (and they should), the Steelers could choose to give backup Charlie Batch the start and let Big Ben have another five days to rehab.

Batch has a long, successful history of replacing Roethlisberger in the lineup. Big Ben had knee surgery in 2005 and Batch went 2-0 in his absence. He also won the 2006 opener against the Dolphins while Roethlisberger recovered from an emergency appendectomy. Batch lost to the Ravens during a meaningless Week 17 game in 2007, and was 1-1 in 2010 while Roethlisberger served a four-game suspension to start the season.

If the Colts somehow find a way to beat the Ravens, then we should expect to see Big Ben take the field in San Francisco. Because a victory there, followed by wins against the Rams and Browns, would mean that the Steelers would be no worse than the No. 2 seed in the AFC and get a much-needed bye week during the first round of the playoffs. But again, we can't envision a scenario where Indy pulls off the upset.

A bigger concern for Pittsburgh: Pouncey's health. If there's a silver lining to his latest high-ankle sprain it's this, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Gerry Dulac: "Doctors always have maintained that players who have a second high-ankle sprain heal faster and return quicker than players who have suffered one for the first time."

The dark cloud, again via Dulac: "The Steelers think it might be harder for Pouncey to play against the 49ers because he needs his ankle for leverage in run-blocking and pass protection. Pouncey injured his left ankle against the Browns, and it is the same one he injured in the AFC championship game that kept him out of Super Bowl XLV. Pouncey said after the game Thursday night that he will play in San Francisco. Of course, he said much the same thing before the Super Bowl, too, even though the Steelers knew all along he wasn't going to play."

Doug Legursky filled in capably for Pouncey in the Super Bowl and again Thursday. The problem, however, is that he's the starting left guard. Which means that when he moves to center, Chris Kemoeatu comes into the game. Kemoeatu, who has 52 career starts with the team, lost his job in recent weeks for, as Mike Tomlin likes to say, playing below the line.

In two quarters against the Browns Thursday, Kemoeatu had three penalties, two of which came on third downs that the Steelers had converted. He has played so poorly this season that he'll likely be replaced by career backup Trai Essex going forward.

The upheaval along the o-line is another reason not to rush Big Ben back in the lineup; why let him play, risk further injury, and jeopardize the rest of the season?

In one sense, Roethlisberger's high-ankle sprain could be a blessing. It will allow him a few weeks off, and some much-need time to get healthy. That said, after watching his peg-legged performance against the Browns Thursday, we suspect he thinks getting healthy is overrated.